Truth Be Told...(Nov. 5, 2023) Ex. 20.16

Country artist Brad Paisley in his song That’s Love states this: “There ain't a woman in the world that wants to hear the word yes, When she asks if you think that she looks chubby in that dress. And if she cooks all day you better eat it with a smile It doesn't matter if it tastes just like bad gravy on a Goodyear tire. all right so you bend the truth that's somethin' that you'll have to get use to 'Cause that's love you'll see We all commit a little bit of perjury Ah but that's no crime if you ask me, that's love.” He continues in the song stating that the man has things that the woman…bends the truth about him as well.

So, when is the time to tell the truth? It is a tricky question and there are many answers. Some, like the philosopher Immanuel Kant, state that one should always tell the truth even if it gets someone hurt or killed. Others, who are known as situation ethicists, state that the situation one is in should be the factor for telling the truth and that it should be done in love for the person or situation. This would include lying if someone was to be hurt, what is in some cases called a “noble lie”. And let’s face it, we all lie at one time or another. We tell “white lies” that are considered no big deal. We tell medium lies to shift blame from us. And we tell whoppers to keep ourselves out of trouble. We all lie.

But what does the ninth commandment tell us to do? When the commandments are stated for children, this commandment becomes “Do not lie.” A noble sentiment and one that we like to impress in our children. Lying is wrong. Is this what the commandment is telling us? Not really though there is a component of no lying built into this.

The commandment is telling us to not bear false witness against a neighbor. This means malicious lying where one is lying to get someone is trouble.

This is a commandment to keep people from lying in a court or justice situation. In the time of the First Testament, there were no courts of law. If one had a grievance against a neighbor, one took it to the city or town gates. There, the wisest and most noble of citizens (all men) would be congregated and they would hear the grievance and then decide based on what was heard.

Now one can imagine that this could be, and was, abused. Many a time someone would come and bring a false charge against someone else. Have you ever tried to decide who is telling the truth when it is ones word against another? It is difficult and often we wonder if we made the correct decision. Therefore, after the commandments were given, there was some…clarification added. In the book of Deuteronomy there is the stipulation that when one came to the city gates to bring a grievance that there be two or more witnesses to back up the charge that was being made to the city fathers. In this way there would be not much doubt about the charge

But there could be challenges even with this clarification. Take the story that was the first reading this morning. Ahab was the king of Israel. He saw a vineyard that was adjacent to the palace and would look good as part of his vegetable garden. He approached the owner of the vineyard, Naboth, and offered him a deal: let Ahab have the vineyard for the price of the land or he would give a comparable piece of land, maybe even a better one. All in all, this seems to be a fair deal. But Naboth refused. Why? Because the land the vineyard occupied was the land that was distributed to his ancestors when they first came to the promised land. He could not give up his inheritance, the land that belonged to him and to all those before him. He politely but firmly refused.

So, what does Ahab do? He goes to the palace and pouts. The queen Jezebel asks what is wrong. Ahab whines about the vineyard and that Naboth will not give it to him. Jezebel scoffs at this and says that he is the king, this should not be an issue. She will get the vineyard for him. She writes in the name of the king for all the elders and nobles of the city (the ones who would sit at the gates) to assemble and give Naboth (who must have been a noticeable citizen) a seat of honor. Then they were to find two rogues, scoundrels or villains to accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king.

The things were done, and the meeting occurred. The rogues accused Naboth, and he was found guilty of the charges brought against him. He was then stoned to death and Ahab took possession of the vineyard.

This is a horrifying story of the carrying out of injustice. It is called judicial murder, and it happens when there is false witness against a neighbor. It is also a story that shows what happens when the powerful take on the powerless and use that power to take what they want. It goes with the commandment to not steal. Stealing can come in many guises and one of those is the taking of possessions by legal but fraudulent means.

There is one other thing that is taken in this story. Naboth must have been a respected member of the community because he was called to the meeting along with the elders. In the false accusations, his good name was taken from him. We are often told that no one can take a good name from us, but this story proves otherwise. There are other stories where the good name is taken, and people suffer the consequences showing that bearing false witness brings about tragedy and suffering.

It is one thing to take ones name or possessions. There is an aspect of bearing false witness that we usually do not cover. Those bringing charges against a person would face the same penalty of the charged if they were found to be spurious charges. In other words, the rogues would have faced death by stoning as Naboth did. And just to make sure that those bringing charges were telling the truth, they would be the first ones to throw the stones. Puts Jesus telling the men who caught the woman in adultery to throw the first stone in a different light, does it not?

So, how are we to not bear false witness? The Heidelberg Catechism states it this way: That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the very devices the devil uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense wrath. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.” Calvin states it thusly: “To sum up, then: let us not malign anyone with slanders or false charges, nor harm his substance by falsehood, in short, injure him by unbridled evilspeaking and impudence. To this prohibition the command is linked that we should faithfully help everyone as much as we can in affirming the truth, in order to protect the integrity of his name and possessions.”[1] We are not to lie about our neighbors in any way, shape or form. We may say that we would never to that, the consequences are too great. Really? What do we do with that juicy piece of gossip we hear? What do we do when we are angry with someone, and someone asks us what is wrong? Any time we lie about a neighbor, and that includes our enemies, the poor, the immigrant, the orphaned, those whom God cares about, we are bearing false witness. It is just as if we committed perjury in a court of law.

Now, this commandment is again a simple, straight forward command. But there is so much to it. When do we not tell the truth? When is not telling the truth the “right thing to do?” As stated before, there are those who would say that lying is acceptable if it is done in love to protect someone. Paisley’s song says it is love to not tell someone the truth. But the truth must be told. There is a cartoon that shows two booths. One is labeled Unpleasant Truths. The other is labeled Comforting Lies. Guess which booth has the line that goes off the panel of the cartoon? We certainly like our little lies. But the truth be told, we must face the truth and uphold the truth that God expects of us. That calls us to tell the truth about our neighbors even when it could be a detriment to us. But when we do tell the truth, we show again what it will be like in the kingdom of God, where we will live together without worrying about lying. Tell the truth. Do you like it? Or would you rather tell a lie to be comforted and be comfortable? Amen.

[1]Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics.